Uehara hits stride with four straight appearances

"It's the best I've seen him since he's been with us," said Washington of the reliever acquired in a trade last season. "It's the best his splitter has been, the best his fastball has been. He's fresh, and he's always been a strike-thrower."

One thing that has helped Uehara throw four straight days is the fact that he's only needed 36 pitches, an average of nine per appearance, to get through three innings plus one batter.

"If he had an 18-pitch game during that stretch, we couldn't do that," Washington said.